Archive for the ‘GeekDad Community’ Category

Just wanted to give a shout out to all the other dads as we celebrate my son’s 4th “re-birthday” today. It was 4 years ago that we took him in to the ER as he was unresponsive. After a 7 hour surgery we were told it was cancer. They had removed a golf ball sized tumor from his brain. After 31 radiation treatments and a year and a half of chemotherapy, he is still without evidence of disease, and we cherish every moment, of ever hour, of every day.

This year we are participating, once again, in a St. Baldrick’s Fundraiser to help conquer kids’ cancer. Our son is also shaving his head, for the 4th time, as well. He likes to help raise money for kids who are fighting a battle, like he did, that no child should have to fight! If you would like to donate, here’s a link to his donation page. His team is the “Hairy Wookiees and Ewoks” – of course, something Star Wars related! If you scroll down you can see the video we decided to put on there was very fitting, as we know how to rock it out! Here he is in one of my favorite pictures of him dressed up as Savage Oppress helping us out at one of many troops that he does for charity! Just posting this today in honor of my son, my hero.

It’s no conspiracy: Mulder and Scully take top honors for the Reader’s Choice Fantasy TV Show.

With a total of 2,420 votes cast (a maximum of 10 per reader) for the 39 shows nominated, it was close — a margin of just 3 votes — but the best fantasy TV show of all time as selected by the readers of GeekDad is (drum roll…)

The X-files

The iconic TV show of paranormal paranoia with agents Scully and Mulder also made our top 10 for sci-fi TV show. The top 10 winners are:

The X-Files

Game of Thrones

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The Muppet Show

The Twilight Zone (1959)

Lost

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

Warehouse 13

Xena: Warrior Princess

Interesting to note: the show that received the fewest votes (2 votes, to be precise) was “Dark Room”.

Yesterday we started voting on your top 10 science-fiction novels. That voting is still going on. Today we start voting on fantasy novels. We received over 80 nominations, so browse through the list before making any snap decisions. Although this is a popularity contest, we ask you to not only keep in mind whether you liked the book or not and how popular it is, but also its overall affect the book had on the genre.

Check up to 10fantasy novels , and then you can see the results. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

Yesterday we started voting on your top 10 fantasy TV shows. That voting is still going on. Today we start voting on science-fiction novels. We received over 100 nominations, so browse through the list before making any snap decisions. Although this is a popularity contest, we ask you to not only keep in mind whether you liked the book or not and how popular it is, but also its overall affect the book had on the genre.

Check up to 10 science-fiction novels (sorry, you will have to keep track yourself), and then you can see the results. As always, we ask our dear readers to spread the word about our little poll through Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn or word of mouth.

Like many of our family projects, this one came from seeing an item in a store and saying, “heck, we could make one of those, and probably better… or at least bigger.” We were in the Christmas aisle admiring the gingerbread houses when we realized that three out of four members of our family don’t even like gingerbread. However, being a family who enjoys watching Cake Boss on Netflix, we immediately thought of a wonderful replacement material: fondant.

Ok, it was actually Rice Krispie treats, used so frequently on the show that calling most of their creations “cake” is probably considered fraud in some jurisdictions. We had seen how easy Buddy and the family used the treats in their creations, and it was a material that we all liked (which is important if, like us, you find yourself spending much of your project time munching on the building materials). I have outlined below the general method we used to make our Rice Krispie treat house. Keep in mind that this was completely off-the-cuff, make-it-up-as-you-go. There are many things I will do different next time. Some, I’ve described below. Others, I have left out, as they may work out better for you, and part of the fun of any project is the problem-solving. Continue Reading “Hacking the Holidays: Rice Krispie Treat House” »

We’re putting together top 10 lists of our favorite movies, books, and TV shows for you to vote on next week.

Yesterday we asked you to nominate your favorite sci-fi TV shows, and you can still add nominations to that list until next Sunday. Today we are looking for nominations for the top fantasy TV shows. What’s the difference? Our quick definitions are:

That’s not to say that sci-fi can’t have magic or fantasy have technology, but we ask you to look at the primary themes. If you disagree with someone else’s classification during the nomination period, we invite you to comment.

So, to get the list started, here is my personal list of my top 10 favorite fantasy TV shows:

Game of Thrones: This is a show so good, even people who “don’t like fantasy” love it.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: This series changed the way I looked at fantasy TV. In many ways, it was the Star Trek of fantasy TV, legitimizing the genre with an older audience.

The Twilight Zone (1959): Also in my sci-fi list, this show still amazes me with the incredible depth of storytelling, the likes of which I don’t believe has ever been equaled.

Batman: The Animated Series (1992): This was one of the first cartoons after the quagmire of the 1970s and 1980s to feature great art and great stories at the same time.

Dark Shadows (1966): Although not as good as most people remember (when re-watching recently I fast-forwarded through a lot of the townsfolk taking in the bar stuff), at the time this gothy soap opera was a breath of fresh air from the grave.

Fantasy TV seems to have gotten off to much later start than sci-fi. Although there are a few comedic examples — such as Bewitched, The Addams Family, and I Dream of Jeannie — serious fantasy TV shows don’t seem to have cropped up much until the late 1980s. That changed, especially after the success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now with Game of Thrones, fantasy genre shows are likely to be the next big thing on TV.

So what are your favorite fantasy TV shows? Tell us in the comments and then you can cast your vote next week for the best fantasy TV show.

‘Tis the season to make top 10 lists, and we at GeekDad are not immune to the allure of ranking our favorites. But, rather than us pronouncing the best from upon high, we want you — our illustrious readers — to help us out. This week, Ethan Gilsdorf and I will be taking nominations for the best sci-fi and fantasy TV shows, movies, and quotes. Next week, we’ll ask you to vote on your favorites. Then, the last week in December, we’ll publish the results here on the pages of GeekDad.

Today, we are asking you to nominate your favorite sci-fi TV shows. I’ve included a list of my favorites to get things kicked off, but I’m sure I’ve overlooked a few here or there. Add your favorites in the comments for this post, with a brief one or two sentences as to why you think it should be nominated for consideration.

One question, though, is what’s the difference between sci-fi (or science-fiction) and fantasy? As a quick differentiation, I like Rod Serling’s definitions, “Science-fiction, the improbable made possible; fantasy, the impossible made probable.” For our purposes, we’ve decided to define them like this:

That’s not to say that sci-fi can’t have magic or fantasy have technology, but we ask you to look at the primary themes. If you disagree with someone else’s classification during the nomination period, we invite you to comment.

So, to get the list started, here is my personal list of top 10 favorite sci-fi TV shows:

Firefly: The short-lived series was like a perfect meal that left you hungry for more.

Doctor Who (1963): Despite the cheesy special effects, the original Doctor Who series produced solid acting and solid stories.

The Twilight Zone (1959): Although not all of the stories are technically sci-fi — so I can also include it in my top 10 fantasy list as well — there are some seminal moments in this show that still echo in stories today.

The Prisoner (1967): This series blew my mind apart when I first watched it in the 1980s. I don’t think I ever quite recovered.

Star Trek: What 2001: A Space Odyssey did for sci-fi in the cinema, Star Trek did on TV: gave it intelligent themes for an adult audience.

Doctor Who (2005): The Doctor Who “reboot” kept what was best about the original series, but introduced better effects and more mature themes.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Despite a rocky start as a pale shadow of the original series, Next Generation went on to blaze its own path in the sci-fi universe.

Blake’s 7: Often overlooked — especially in the US — Blake’s 7 is a Brit cult classic that brought a darker edge to sci-fi than any of it’s contemporaries.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Although there are certainly a number of great anime sci-fi TV shows, Ghost in the Shell is the Gold Standard, combining smart stories with the best animation.

It was difficult to pare the list down, and I know this list is far from complete, so let me know your favorites. Nominate shows you think we should include in our list by adding a comment below. You don’t have to nominate 10 shows; nominate as many as you want, but please give a brief description of each as to why you think it should be nominated.

I should know better by now. Should’ve grown out of it. But I haven’t (and don’t want to). I’m a 36 year old Street Fighter fan and this past weekend myself and two friends took the long trip up to Telford from London to compete in Capcom’s Street Fighter 25th Anniversary competition.

“Street Fighter” you say? Do people still play that? Well, yes, they do. Fighting games have enjoyed a pretty big resurgence over the past few years and while I’m unsure they will ever regain the popularity they enjoyed in the late ’80s/’90s (without Capcom hiring me ;-)) a whole new generation has caught onto the fact that they’re really fun to play. It was this new generation I was expecting to have to battle as I set myself the target of winning one match and to not come last. Continue Reading “Fighting in Your Thirties – Capcom’s Street Fighter 25th Anniversary Competition” »

Welcome to out weekly round up of the goings on over on the GeekDad Community. Remember, everyone who joins up gets their own blog where they can post about stuff that interests them. If we like what you write, your post could end up here on the main blog, just like Martin Williams’s post about Last Chance to Read The Hobbit did.

The Community also had a great Projects section and loads of great photos are being posted all the time – just like the one above of from community member Randy of his son’s excellent Portal Storage Cube Halloween costume.